Sundown shadows parking lot

Capturing the setting sun and glints off car-tops took some deft brushwork. Its that time of year when painting outdoors becomes increasingly difficult due to cold moist air, although so far its been an excellent autumn. Getting shadow values correct is also tricky in watercolour, you have to apply it a shade or two darker to anticipate how looks after drying. 

Sundown car shadows, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

A quick study of the passing commuter train, one of the newer ones, with some earthy-yellow/orange trees. An art store chain Deserres, recently discontinued Schmincke paint, reduced their Daniel Smith selection substantially, and were out of stock on most PWC brand paints. Thinking ahead, I decided to make a round of purchases at Kama Pigment Montreal and Studio Six Toronto. One paint in particular, quinacridone magenta (PR122) was hard to get, so I ordered two tubes of it. Maybe supply chain and cost issues are going to hit watercolour paints and art retailers as stocks dwindle. 

Train passing trees, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

Looking east, its part of the sports dome, and the PERFORM Centre casting a shadow across the rear parking area. That shadow colour is a mix of quinacridone purple (PV55) and phthalo green blue shade (PG7). I received the Kama Pigment shipment already, got Daniel Smith 15mL tubes of Lamp black (PBk6), burnt yellow ochre (PR102), phthalo green yellow shade (PG36), and bismuth vanadate yellow (PY184). 

Centre dome rear view, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

 

Underground tunnel signs of autumn

Riding east along the st Jacques bike path and I encountered many construction sites, and finally stopped off at Montagne street where underground highway 136 emerges. I paint there frequently because there are good sight lines, angles, and plenty of sun comes in which is a rarity in the city especially in the autumn and winter. These signs are reminding drivers to turn right, no left, no right... on Montagne street. 

Right right right, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

Along the exterior of the tunnel exit there are a number of power boxes and cables that are no doubt connected to the many lights within the tunnel. Graffiti adorned the stainless steel boxes, which I replaced with my own initials and year. To paint stainless steel, I applied a warm wash, then tinted it blue on top, and yellow-green on bottom. In doing so, it gives the illusion of reflecting the sky and green grass. 

Tunnel power lines, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

Standing up behind the retainer fence, its surrounded by an open lawn next to the dog park, I got this view of cars coming out of the tunnel. Yellow signs said turn right, and watch out for pedestrians. Towards the upper right of this scene, I depicted some of the tents that were set up, people were living in them. As drivers sped past the people living in tents, I noticed a parallel, this is, the car shadows and the tent shadows looked very similar. Regardless of our status in the world, we all cast the same shadows. 

Exit looking down, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

 

Turquiose wall glow Cabot street

In the background you see one of the canal bridges for autoroute 10, in the foreground is part of the massive mural wall on Cabot street. The turquoise sun-facing side is a tribute to SCAN, a late graffiti writer who uses to paint in this area and around the city. 

Graffiti wall canal bridge, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

I walked past this scene thinking it was too hard to paint and I was tired yesterday after doing quite a few paintings already. Then I figured, paint it while its there! In this version, two white cars were parked next to the turquoise mural wall, and strong sun created an eerie glow. 

White cars green glow, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

The same two white cars from another angle and up close. The mural, unseen to my left, was reflecting off the car, and creating a turquoise glow. To emphasize the turquoise I created violet shadows underneath, and made sure the rest of the scene were warm earthy colours and a bright blue sky. Its a neat painting and I am glad to have hung in there and did these ones. 

White cars mural reflection, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026 

Pink house, highway signs, drained canal

Making my way over the canal lock, there was a good view of the pink house atop the Old Malt factory that is being torn down. I added a drone in the sky, since there were people flying one again, probably to get video of the ruined structure. My initials PJD adorn one of the silos, along with SAKE, a famous retired writer (graffiti artist/vandal). 

Pink house over trees, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

Off in the distance, highway signs from auto route 10 could be seen over autumn-coloured trees. I liked the contrast between the bright blue/green/yellow of the background, with earthy pastel colours of the foreground elements. 

Highway signs autumn colours, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

Some mallard ducks were making the most of it, a partially drained Lachine canal. The locks are shut down for the season, and they drop the water level to minimum so as to avoid ice-stress on the structures. You can see the rocky ramparts that spend most of the year under water. That is st Patrick street on the top left.  

Drained canal, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

 

Old Maltage tear down

Hearing about the Old Maltage building in st Henri getting torn down, I headed there to see some carnage. Sure enough, the rear pillar of bricks is in ruins, although the rear facade along st Ambroise is still there. If you go look at a previous blog, the third painting with pigeons called 'Looking up old malt', that whole structure is gone now, inlcuding the pigeons.  

Old Maltage tear down vertical, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

The city had to demolish this part because its collapse was imminent after being neglected since the 1980's. Interestingly, the interior of the structure could be seen, revealing graffiti on the inside walls high up in the structure. Graffiti artists obviously got access to the inside and painted on walls. I once heard the sounds of people living inside the structure while painting the rear door, its the last painting within that link. 

Old Maltage tear down horizontal, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

With nice sun and a blue-sky day, I made a third painting of the demolition crane close-up, it had neat reflections on the windshield. The tires were up in the air because the vehicle was suspended by huge iron bracers. There were no workers on the site, although some people were getting a drone going to make reconnaissance, and a lady with a telephoto camera asked me for directions to where she could get a good a view of the pink house. Its like a tourist attraction there!

Demo crane close-up, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026 

Sundown Harley street

Getting down to Westhaven neighborhood I caught this neat view of the sundown over Raffi auto shop. With the sun located top center, I composed the rest of the scene asymmetrically to break symmetry and set up the neat, cool shadow. Pastel tones play well against the high chroma sun colours. 

Sundown over Raffi auto shop, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

Having bought a new tube of bismuth vanadate yellow, a small 5mL tube from Winsor and Newton that cost a fortune... I'd say that yellow lawn was an expensive one to paint lol! But the store was out of Daniel Smith bismuth yellow, apparently they will not carry it anymore (I bought their last tube awhile ago on discount). In this painting, I softened the sky tones to middle-pastel, and let the foreground grass field glow, and carry the visual interest of an angled-shadow from a telephone pole. I painted lightly around the sun to create a surreal glow. 

Pole shadow field, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

 

Yellow orange red, all the Autumn colours

Cabot square downtown is quite built up all around, and they installed a new exit structure to the Atwater metro stop in recent times. With tall trees, Cabot square makes for some nice autumn colours including yellows and reds. 

Station Atwater Cabot square, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

Yellow and green, more fall colours but graffiti this time, courtesy of ZONEK, or PJD in the painting. All of these building along st Catherine near the Alexis Nihon mall are slated for demolition and redevelopment once the city settles on a plan.

Rooftop graffiti, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

And a panorama view of Cabot square with ever-present traffic going up and down Atwater street. Its a busy intersection most times of day including commuter hours. The autumn colours are mixes of bright pigments like bismuth vanadate yellow (PY184) and earth pigments like yellow ochre (PY43) or raw sienna (PBRr7). Red is done with a mix of pyrol red (PR254) and burnt yellow ochre (PR102). 

Cabot square multi-colour, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026

Waiting for the LUFA vegetables, I caught one last view of the sun though a tree. Similar to a painting I made the other day, this one shows tree shadows streaking across an olive-green field of grass, with traffic on Sherbrooke street. This painting is bursting with autumn colours, like a warm cup of tea, caramel, and toasted pistachios. 

Trenholme park sun in trees, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, October 2026